Chapter 5 – Serendipity

Sixth grade flew by. My growth was much slower than the rest of my class obviously. At my annual physical, my Mom told the doctor about my grandfather’s height. He said that, yes, I was right on track with my grandfather’s growth rate. While the doctor agreed though, he said that if by the age of fifteen he didn’t see any changes leading to puberty, he would send me to an endocrinologist to get puberty started. Doug’s plan was working perfectly.

I excelled in all my subjects. And I helped Mrs. Duncan with school productions and plays. Somehow, the costumes for the players were better than in any year previous. Mrs. Duncan knew I would be teased and arranged for me to do most of my work in private during study hall. To give me even more work and experience, Mrs. Duncan also arranged to have me do alterations for other schools and local theaters whenever possible. Not even my parents knew. Doug knew though. No secrets between us was the rule. Mrs. Duncan took the measurements and I made the outfits or alterations as needed. It was our little secret.

By November, almost everyone forgot I played a girl during the summer. At home, lessons with Doug continued and I made more and more outfits for Samantha to wear. I had run out of hand me downs from Jane. I started studying about baby care and doing diaper changes on dolls too. And we started basic French lessons which meant that Doug and I were in our own little class. We used a television series called French in Action that he had videotaped on the community channel. He got the workbooks and textbooks from university and the cassette tapes too thanks to his parents. I played Mireille and he played Robert, the two main characters in the series. Sometimes, to blow off steam, Doug and I would ride out of the neighborhood on our bikes with backpacks on, find a place to change, and then do things as “sister and brother.” Each outing I was given a chance to do something minor like go to a library or go for a walk in a park. We avoided places where I could be trapped if someone were to see me and know me.

Valentine’s Day presented a whole different problem. Some girls were developing sooner than others and would shoot up all of a sudden becoming the biggest kid in the room. One of those girls was Miriam Sanders. Since I was about the shortest and she was the tallest, we started to get teased about her being the bride while I was the groom. I tried to ignore it, but the brats wouldn’t let go of the idea until they drew some blood. Miriam for her part really didn’t care. They boys couldn’t touch her because she was bigger than them. So, they mostly targeted me with their taunts.

“Oh look now, there is the happy couple!” came the chorus of boys as they teased us for the umpteenth time as we prepared to talk about what we needed to bring to the Valentine’s Day party that we.

I had enough. I knew I needed to shut them up and have some fun too. I may be small, but my ideas weren’t.

I went up to Miriam, “Can we talk in private for a moment?”

“Oh, okay. What is it Sam?”

“I am tired of getting teased. Are you?”

“Well, yes. But I do like you, so I don’t mind.”

“Me too. But I think they need to be taught a lesson.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Well, the Valentine’s Day party is at the end of the day on Friday, right?”

“Yeah. So?

“So, do you want to pretend we got married and then give the boys who are teasing us chocolate hearts as a wedding favors.”

“And how will that teach them a lesson.”

I just grinned.

“You aren’t going to tell me are you?”

“Nope.” I had to fight back laughter but she knew I was up to something.

“Okay, what we will have to do?” she said.

“Let’s tell the boys that you and I got married on Valentine’s Day before the party and then I will give the girls pink hearts and the boys who have been teasing us chocolate hearts. All we have to do is to thank them and say that if it weren’t for them we wouldn’t have found each other.” Miriam could tell I was holding back laughter.

“Okay, what is so funny?”

“I just promise that it will be good. And, you must tell the girls that under no circumstances should they eat the chocolate hearts I will be handing out. Only the pink ones. And, they must make a fuss about the pink ones being so girly.”

“Okay. I don’t know why, but I trust you.”

I went home that day, got some money, and walked down to the grocery store. I bought bakers chocolate and chocolate ex-lax. I also bought white chocolate and pink food coloring. I then searched for and found small heart shaped forms I could make the hearts with.

I knew I had a few hours by myself and took advantage of it the next day. I melted the chocolate and smashed the chocolate ex-lax flat and threw it into the pot. I then used an electric mixer and mixed it all together so that it was just gritty chocolate. I then poured with a spoon melted chocolate into the form in the form and then scrapped it off with a knife. I repeated the procedure until I had at least about fifty chocolates. I then made about fifty pink chocolates with the white chocolate. I then arranged two small cardboard boxes. One looked very masculine and the other I put bling on and made to look very girly. I put the chocolate hearts into the masculine box and the pink ones into the girly box.

The next day, during the Valentine’s Day party at the end of the day, my plan unfolded.

At the start of class before we started our party, they started teasing us again. Miriam came up to me and hugged me. We both smiled at them. “Miriam and I have an announcement to make guys. We loved your suggestion and, well, last night we out and got married.” Her girlfriends joined us all giddy and excited congratulating us. I continued, “And to celebrate our love, we brought these chocolates favors we had at our wedding to share with you. Here you go guys, you can enjoy these. I can’t thank you enough. Without you, I wouldn’t have had the courage to ask Miriam here to marry me. Here girls, you can enjoy these too.” Miriam and I just hugged. She realized that I was up to something so she leaned down and kissed me on the lips quickly.

The boys were floored. They saw the girls dig into their chocolate and then decided to eat theirs. They tasted good so they continued and looked smug as they watch us two love birds. They couldn’t believe what they had done to us.

I turned to them and said straight faced, “I have never known such happiness. I wouldn’t have married my dream girl unless you all had pointed her out to me.”

“Yes, boys. I really appreciate you telling me that Sam was the one for me. I am looking forward to a lifetime with him.” We held hands and looked all lovey-dovey.

She may not have known what I was doing, but she knew it was good. Before the teacher call the class to order to begin the party, she leaned over and whispered in my ear, “What was in their chocolate?”

I whispered back, ”Ex-lax.” I could tell she was biting her lip.

The party went well. Miriam and I pretended to be in madly in love the whole time. She laughed every time she saw one of the boys eating a heart. The boys greedily ate all their chocolate. At the end of the party, everyone went to their buses or walked home.

Monday, I walked into class and looked at the boys. I asked with a big grin, “How was your weekend guys?” The girls started to laugh and pointed at them. Miriam piped up, “Yes, how was your weekend guys?” We were never teased again. Nor were we reported. They didn’t know who was to blame. Just me, me and Miriam, the girls, or all of us. But, they knew they were tricked into a very messy weekend. I did hear that after that weekend, one of the boys, Mark Conner, acquired the nickname among his soccer teammates of ‘Brownster.’ Tempted though I was, I never called him that.

I began studying piano too at school in music class. And my ice skating improved. I liked doing double jumps, toe flips, and learning how not to not get dizzy from spins. I wanted to do more, but without my own skates, it would be hard. Finally, I got so good, I was giving Doug lessons too. And then something really good happened that Doug and I didn’t expect us to find coming home after an ice skating session on Sunday.

At the end of sixth grade, my sister Jane, a sophomore now, got invited to the prom by a senior hunk by the name of Matthew Wilcox, a good friend of Roberts. She and my mother were trying to adjust the prom dress she had just bought when Doug and I came in from the skating class. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud walking through the door.

“Oh no, the brat has returned at last. You are no help Sam Miller if you are going to laugh at us. So just leave us be.”

Mom said, “Now Jane. I don’t think he meant anything mean by it, did you honey?”

“That’s not why I laughed Mom. It’s because you both are doing it all wrong.”

They both looked at me stunned.

“How would you know?” asked Jane incredulously.

“Didn’t you know that I learned how to do alterations this last summer in Shakespeare class. Mrs. Duncan has been quietly teaching me all year more skills on how to do alterations of clothes at school too for outfits and for costumes. She even went so far as to get me to help other schools. They would bring students with their clothes they needed altering for choir, band, and plays. I would work on theirs too. I’ve gotten quite good at it. Mrs. Duncan didn’t want me to get teased more than I already had, so, I hadn’t even told you guys. Truth be told, I would like to help, if you let me. I didn’t mean to hurt your feeling Jane. I just want you to look your best for the prom.”

What I didn’t want to add is that once I learned to sew back in fourth grade, Doug had me make from scratch all my outfits. He had found a used dress dummy and a mannequin that he hid when they weren’t in use and I used them to make muslin dresses for the mannequin and do alterations too. Guess I really was a girl playing with dolls for a purpose. Very big dolls at that.

My mom and sister looked at each other and then at me saying in unison, “Okay, prove it.”

I took the tape measure, put the pin holder on my wrist, grabbed the fabric chalk and went to work.

“Are these the pumps you are going to wear, Jane?” I pointed to shoes that were on the floor next to her.

“Yes, we bought them for the dress too.”

“That is your first mistake Jane. Please put them on. They affect how any good tailor measures your hem line and it also changes how the dress falls on your body when it gets altered.”

“Okay Sam,” Mom said somewhat impressed as she helped Jane step into her shoes. “Good start.”

After she put on her pumps, I asked “How far up do you want the dress to go. I might suggest a little above the ankle. Here let me show you.” I rolled up the dress a little and we all looked into the mirror. We tried different heights. Once we found one she liked, I had Mom hold the hem while I pinned it and marked it with the fabric chalk being careful to measure along the way to make sure the hem was even.

“Doug.” I called.

“Yes Sam?”

“Could you get me the step stool from the kitchen please? My sister may be tall and beautiful, but I am short, skinny and ugly.” My sister giggled. “No you’re not. You’re a swan, not an ugly duckling.” Jane said and kissed me on the head as I worked on her.

Soon, I was working all around my sister. Tapering her waist in more and accenting the curve of the dress at the hips to accentuate her sexy curves. A tuck to be made here on the dress. Let it out there a bit on the dress. I asked her if she would like to make a belt for the dress from the excess fabric cut off the dress so she can use the dress as a nice evening dress after the prom. She loved the idea. I would tell her sometimes we can’t do this alteration, but we can do this alteration instead. Mom and Jane would make suggestions and I would pin in up for them letting them see how it looked. Finally, the dress was how they liked it. Marked, pinned, and ready for the sewing machine.

“Fantastic, let’s get it to the tailors so they can compete the changes.” Mom said.

“Oh no, Mom, just get me the right colored thread and I can use the sewing machine at Doug’s house. I can knock it out in about two hours.” I said confidently.

They looked at me dumbfounded again.

“Hello Mom, Jane, who do you think made all the costumes for the whole troop last summer? That’s why I didn’t mind roaming around in a dress. It was my own creation for crying out loud! You didn’t know I made the dress I acted in did you?” I feigned irritation and looked down with my lips pursed. “I thought everyone knew here. No wonder you guys didn’t say anything to me! I was waiting for someone to say something.”

Mom shook her head no. “I honestly thought you had to wear the dress to keep Mrs. Duncan happy because it was her class. I am sorry honey.” She was clearly sorry for not knowing.

Jane, ignoring our conversation grew excited and said “I can’t believe I am saying this, but I have the right thread here. Take us over there. I have got to see you do this! I cannot believe what you are telling me. Can you make the belt too?”

“Of course I can. But, after the prom. I have to order some stuff and learn how to make a matching buckle.”

We crossed the street with the dress and went into Doug’s house. I turned on the classical radio station and went to work. For the next two hours, everyone watched me rip seams, use a sewing machine to stitch seams, do hidden seams, do hems, and expertly alter my sisters dress like a pro. It wasn’t just that I was cutting away excess fabric, or changing feet on the sewing machine to do special stiches, or threading needles, or loading up bobbins, or doing rolling hems, or even seam ripping and carefully restitching along the way, it was that I was doing it. What they saw is that I did expert hand stitching and more where needed when the sewing machine wasn’t the answer. What they saw is that I took command over the dress as though I had made it myself. And when I was done, I said. “I’m sorry it took so long. I didn’t have a dress dummy to help me like I do at the school.”

Mom and Jane looked at me. Mom looked awestruck, “You mean you can go even faster than what we just witnessed?”

“Uh … yeah. Using a dress dummy really helps a short guy like me. That and a step stool.” That set the stage for Doug to bring over the hidden dress dummy in his house in case I needed it in the future. It really wouldn’t have saved me any time.

Jane put on the finished dress in the bathroom and came out. It fit perfectly and she looked gorgeous. My mother checked the seams and workmanship. She looked back to me and said, “Son, you are really gifted. If you don’t become a lawyer or a doctor, consider becoming a tailor.”

Jane held up her hands to her face in utter joy looking at her reflection in a full length mirror. “I am sorry I ever doubted you Sam. Thank you so much. Can I tell my friends? I mean, I know you don’t want the boys at school to find out because they will tease you, but can I?”

I looked at Doug and winked. “Of course you can. But, they need to give me enough to pay for those Gold Star ice skates I have been saving to get. I am tired of using rental skates. No, wait, how many friends are we talking about?”

Jane laughed, “About seven? Think you can handle it?”

“Okay, at $30 per friend, that would give me enough to pay off my Gold Star skate order. Would that be fair?”

“Fair! Fair! No it wouldn’t be fair.” She turned back look at herself in the mirror again. “My brother is not a slave. They need to pay you at least $50.” Turning back to me, she said “A good session with a tailor will cost them $100. So $50 is a bargain. Deal?”

I hugged my sister and said, “Deal!”

Mom said, “Maybe you could do skaters outfits too?”

“Cool idea mom, I like that. But not right now, I have to make Jane look good to her friends it ‘seems.’” They all groaned at the bad pun.

“Hey Doug, do you mind if we move your sewing machine over to my house this week for all the fittings I will have to do?” I stopped. “No, wait, on second thought, Mom, maybe we could buy a better sewing machine instead? There is this really nice one on sale at Georgina’s Fabrics. And, could you buy a Martha Washington sewing cabinet where I can store things. It will go nicely in the living room. I guess I will need a work area. Gosh, so much to do.”

“Slow down son. No problem, I can see we need to get you some tools and we can go out tomorrow and get them. Wow, you really know your stuff. I am really proud of you!” Mom was getting into this too.

“Mrs. Duncan has taught me well.” I lied a bit, but Doug knew why. “And, well, it was an awesome class. I want to do it this summer again just for fun. So, if I do this for Jane, Mom, you have to promise to let me do Shakespeare again, and not try to send me to summer camp.”

“Okay, agreed. You have been so happy lately; I don’t think I would stop you doing it anyway.” Mom said proudly.

I could see Jane was so excited about doing this with her friends, she wasn’t listening to me. I turned to Doug. “Doug, what will you do while I tailor? You can’t hang out with all the ladies, can you?”

“I guess I will keep an eye on Robert and keep him in the other room while you do your magic.”

Mom said, “Good thinking Doug. Robert will need a leash. I don’t know what we would do without you sometimes. Come to think of it, if you hadn’t talked us into the Shakespeare class, we wouldn’t have an in-house tailor.” I blushed.

Jane let out a shriek all of a sudden. “Oh no! Mom, I just realized, the girls will not like a boy, particularly my brother, working on them at all. They will think it is creepy. They already think he is a brat.”

“Yes, you are right. They will think you have lost your mind.” Mom looked deflated.

Doug piped up, “You know, you don’t have to tell them he is your brother. Just say ‘she’ is a young cousin and that ‘she’ is in town for the weekend.”

“Huh?” I said, playing along. I could see what Doug was doing. “I am not a she.”

“Yeah, but you played one very well. You gals could dress Sam up as a girl and a cousin named Jackie Miller, dye his hair with a temporary dye, put glasses on him, a little make up to make him look older, maybe more tan, and your friends wouldn’t even know ‘she’ was your brother. It would be like he was acting again.”

“Oh, come on,” I said. “No one will believe it.”

Jane chimed in, “Please, you just gotta do it Sam! I would be such a big hit with my friends.” She used her eyes to plead with me. Mom giggled at Jane’s antics which were more like a little girl than a teenager.

I looked around for a minute and pretended to think about it. “Okay, but you and Mom have to make me up and make me look good. I really want those skates. You have to find an outfit for me. I don’t care if it is dumpy. Just make sure that it can’t show my you know what down here and that I have something on top that looks natural. And I have to be able to move in it to get up and down all day to do alterations.”

Mom said, “Don’t worry Sam, Jane and I will do it all for you. Don’t worry your pretty little head off.” Jane and Mom giggled.

“Aw Mom!” I couldn’t help but smile. I enjoyed the teasing and they knew it.

Mom and Jane went back home with the dress. That night I did another sleep over with Doug and we chatted about the day’s events.

“That was totally awesome Doug! How did you know?”

“Samantha, I have been planning two years ahead or more. I read people. I ask around. When we started this journey together, I heard students complaining about Mrs. Duncan. I got to know her. So, I knew I could use her to help you. I found out that she needed someone with sewing skills, so I made sure you learned. I knew you would also benefit from playing a girl on stage and being taught how to act like a girl in her class. You probably learned more in her class than you ever did in my so called girl classes. The thing with your sister was pure serendipity, but it fits right in to helping your family see you as what you really are, a girl. Besides, I got to plan something using my high IQ once in a while. Anyway, I have more things for you to do though. But, you are well on your way to becoming a real girl on the outside soon.”

“What are those things?”

“You and I are going to start learning French together soon with a tutor.”

“And why?”

Doug winked at me with a big grin and said, “You’ll find out in two years.”

The next Saturday, I was Jackie Miller, a short family cousin who dressed a little dumpy. Doug crossed the street and presented us with a dress dummy as a gift since he created Jackie Miller and headed off to spend time with Robert. I worked all day with my sister’s friends. It was incredible to be around them. My Mom and Jane treated me like one of the girls. I listened to their gossip and enjoyed every minute of it. For the next five days, I worked hard getting all the dresses ready on the new machine Mom got me. Jackie made a reappearance the next weekend as she did a final fitting for all the girls.

They were thrilled. I was hugged by each of them as they left with their very special dress to be dropped off at the dry cleaners.

Copyright © 2017 by AuP reviner